USS Aylwin

USS Aylwin

USS Litchfield

USS Sumner

USS Aylwin

USS Litchfield

USS Sumner

USA

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.0	4.0	4.0

Class:

Destroyer

Research:5 900

Purchase:6 300

Show in game

Description

The USS Aylwin (DD-355) was a member of the Farragut-class destroyer family, a class of eight 1,365-ton destroyers built by the U.S. Navy following World War I. On April 29, 1916, Congress authorized their construction, along with the Porter-class destroyers, but funding was substantially delayed. The USS Aylwin, the third ship of the U.S. Navy to be named for Lieutenant John Cushing Aylwin (1778–1812), was laid down at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on September 23, 1933, launched on July 10, 1934, sponsored by Miss Elizabeth M. Farley, Postmaster General James Farley's 11-year-old daughter, and commissioned on March 1, 1935. The ship received 13 combat stars for her service during World War II. After passing the canal for the final time on September 20, 1945, the USS Aylwin arrived in New York City on September 25, 1945. The USS Aylwin was decommissioned on 16 October 1945 at the New York Navy Yard and struck from the Navy List on 1 November 1945. On 20 December 1946, her hull was sold and sent to George N. Nutman, Inc. of Brooklyn, New York, and scrapped by 2 September 1948.

Introduced in Update 1.79 "Project X", the USS Aylwin's firepower exceeds that of the previous Clemson-class destroyers. The fearsome armaments of the USS Aylwin can destroy ships at medium to close range. Unfortunately, due to the relatively low velocity of her guns, players using the USS Aylwin will find it more difficult to land shots at ranges greater than 6 km. At closer ranges, her absence of anti-fragmentation armour significantly harms the ship for being caught in enemy gunfire, as an escape can take time. As a result, the USS Aylwin should use her high rate of fire and powerful weapons at medium range to hold cap zones and assist more protected friends in pressing higher. Furthermore, opponents may be less inclined to attack the USS Aylwin as the anti-air defence is adequate. Nonetheless, air-dropped torpedoes and low-flying bombers flying close to the water's surface must be avoided or prioritised.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Main fire tower3 / 3 / 0 mm

Hull16 mm (steel)

Superstructure4 mm (steel)

Number of section6

Displacement2 307 t

Crew160 people

The hull of the USS Aylwin has no armour plating, being protected by only the hull, which consists of 0.63 inches of steel. This provides no protection against any shells larger than a 20 mm gun. Fire from any destroyer calibre or higher guns should be avoided at all costs. The forward magazines are placed low under the waterline and are basically untouchable, however this is not the case for the aft magazine. This is placed directly on the waterline, so any shells exploding above or arcing in a range will easily detonate the ship. It is recommended to avoid fire to the aft of the ship whenever possible. With only 160 crew as well, she also has relatively low survivability in comparison to enemy destroyers, although at least more than the preceding USS Aylwin.

None of the turret mounts are enclosed, leaving them incredibly vulnerable to splash damage from HE shells and direct hits from any calibre of gun. The forward two turrets do at least have gun shields with 0.125 inches of armour, providing slight protection against machine gun and small calibre autocannon fire. The anti-aircraft guns have shields with 0.5 inches of armour, providing slightly more protection but still negligible. In short, essentially any fire is almost guaranteed to destroy any weapon which takes a hit.

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB83 / 31 km/h

RB68 / 25 km/h

Aylwin has a decent top speed and can cruise to around 60 km/h. It does have a very poor speed change time though, which is to be expected, but this is made up for by its decent ability to dodge shells, when positioned correctly.

Mobility Characteristics
Game Mode	Upgrade Status	Maximum Speed (km/h)		Turn Time (s)	Turn Radius (m)
		Forward	Reverse
AB	Stock	61	23	~88.17	~167.61
	Upgraded	83	31	___	___
RB/SB	Stock	___	___	___	___
	Upgraded	68	25	___	___

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB643 → 821

RB1 022 → 1 306

Total cost of modifications5 970

4 550

Talisman cost410

Crew training1 800

Experts6 300

Aces80

Research Aces135 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

60 / 130 / 100 %

106 / 106 / 106 %

Modifications

Seakeeping	Unsinkability	Firepower
Dry-Docking Research: 300 Cost: 230 85 Rudder Replacement Research: 220 Cost: 165 60 Propeller Replacement Research: 250 Cost: 190 70 Engine Maintenance Research: 390 Cost: 300 110	Damage Control Division Research: 300 Cost: 230 85 Fire Division Research: 220 Cost: 165 60 Smokescreen Research: 220 Cost: 165 60 Shrapnel Protection Research: 250 Cost: 190 70 Ventilation Research: 250 Cost: 190 70 New Pumps Research: 390 Cost: 300 110 Ammo Wetting Research: 390 Cost: 300 110	127mm_usa_mk32_common_sap_ammo_pack Research: 300 Cost: 230 85 20 mm HE magazines Research: 300 Cost: 230 85 127mm_usa_mk46_special_common_sap_ammo_pack Research: 220 Cost: 165 60 20 mm AP magazines Research: 220 Cost: 165 60 Auxiliary Armament Targeting Research: 220 Cost: 165 60 127mm_usa_mk31_aavt_radio_fuse_ammo_pack Research: 250 Cost: 190 70 Improved Rangefinder Research: 250 Cost: 190 70 Primary Armament Targeting Research: 250 Cost: 190 70 Torpedo Mode Research: 390 Cost: 300 110 Bomb mortar Research: 390 Cost: 300 110

Armament

Primary armament

4 х Turret5 inch/38 Mk.12 cannon, mount Mk.21

Ammunition300 rounds

Vertical guidance-15° / 85°

USS Aylwin has a total of 4 x single 5"/38 Mark 12 guns arranged in a balanced manner. These guns are rapid firing compared to earlier destroyers (13 rounds/minute) and have a very quick rate of traverse (25 degrees/second). However, due to low muzzle velocity, it can be difficult to aim at distant targets. Past around 7,000 m the shells will take over 10 seconds to land and tracking shell splashes will be challenging.

Like the other American 5"/38 Mark 12 guns, the Aylwin has the AAC Mark 34 HE shell as stock. The Common Mark 32 SAP and the AAVT Mark 31 HE-VT shells are available as upgrades. Making good use of the VT shell will mean that hostile aircraft stand little chance against you. HE shells will make quick work of light craft such as torpedo boats and sub chasers. HE can also be used against destroyers as they lack armour, while SAP can be used against cruisers with armour protection. Just be aware that at longer ranges and at significant angles, the SAP will be ineffective against armour plating.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		1,000 m	2,500 m	5,000 m	7,500 m	10,000 m	15,000 m
AAC Mk.34	HE	36	36	36	36	36	36
Common Mk.32	Common	124	103	77	58	46	37
SP Common Mk.46	SP Common	150	125	93	71	56	45
AAVT Mk.31	HE-VT	36	36	36	36	36	36

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (s)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
AAC Mk.34	HE	792	25	0	0.1	3,220	79°	80°	81°
Common Mk.32	Common	792	24.49	0.01	6	1,150	47°	60°	65°
SP Common Mk.46	SP Common	792	25	0.01	6	906.5	48°	63°	71°

Proximity-fused shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (s)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Arming distance (m)	Trigger radius (m)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
									0%	50%	100%
AAVT Mk.31	HE-VT	792	25	0	0.1	457	23	3,220	79°	80°	81°

Secondary armament

8 х Turret20 mm/70 Oerlikon Mk.II autocannon

Ammunition1800 rounds

Belt capacity60 rounds

Fire rate450 shots/min

Aylwin has access to 8 x 20 mm Oerlikon cannons for her anti-aircraft defences. 2 of them are just forward of the bridge, four of them are just behind the smoke funnels, and the last 2 are just in front of the after main battery mounts. These provide a wide range of fire and can make short work of aircraft that stray too close. They can be effective against hostile torpedo boats, but if these are firing at surface targets, it is highly likely that you will have torpedoes headed your way.

The 20 mm Oerlikon cannon has access to 3 different ammunition belts: Universal, HE, and AP.

• Universal: HEF-T · HEF-I · AP-T
• 20 mm HE: HEF-T · HEF-I · AP-T · HEF-I
• 20 mm AP: AP-T · AP-T · AP-T · HEF-I

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
HEF-T	2	2	2	2	2	2
AP-T	34	32	24	17	12	8
HEF-I	2	2	2	2	2	2

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
						0%	50%	100%
HEF-T	830	0.12	0	0.1	6.57	79°	80°	81°
AP-T	830	0.12	-	-	-	47°	60°	65°
HEF-I	830	0.12	0	0.1	11.17	79°	80°	81°

Additional armament

Setup 18 x 533 mm steam turbined Mk.15 torpedo

Setup 216 x Mk.6 mortar depth charge

Setup 38 x 533 mm steam turbined Mk.15 torpedo

4 x Mk.6 mortar depth charge

The torpedo armament on Aylwin is less than the preceding Clemson (DD-213) but it is more versatile as both of the quadruple 21" (533 mm) launchers are mounted on the centreline amidships. Due to the tight spaces on-board the ship, you do have to give significant broadside to fire the torpedoes, so be aware of your surroundings.

The Aylwin uses the Mk.15 steam turbine torpedo with a default setting of 5,500 m at 45 knots. This can be modified to an extended range of 9,150 m at a reduced speed of 33.5 knots. Each torpedo has a warhead of 224 kg TNT which can make short work of an enemy destroyer providing the hit is not on an extremity. Cruisers may take more than one, but even a single torpedo can be devastating to a larger ship.

Upon unlocking the "Bomb mortar" upgrade, you can equip 4 x Mk.6 depth charges which are projected from mortars. These are positioned near the aft end of the ship, right in line with the No.3 turret. These weapons have an extremely limited range (only a few hundred metres off each side of the ship) and would only be used during a close-in brawl. Keep in mind that the depth charges do take a few seconds to fly through the air and sink before they detonate, so be aware of timing their firing.

Each Mk.6 depth charge has an explosive charge of 136 kg TNT, which will obliterate any small craft and deal significant damage to a larger ship.

Usage in battles

The first US destroyer with five-inch guns, Aylwin is a major upgrade from the Clemsons, boasting one of the best DPMs at her tier. Unfortunately, this comes at the price of a small broadside and a non-existent armour profile. Thus, Aylwin has two roles, depending on game time and preference:

Mid-Range Sniping

Due to her powerful cannons, Aylwin can decimate ships at medium to close range. Unfortunately, due to her guns having somewhat poor velocity, at ranges exceeding 6,000 km, Aylwin's guns become harder to land shots with. At shorter ranges, her lack of anti-fragmentation armour punishes you for getting caught in enemy cross fire, as retreating can take some time. Hence, at a medium ranges, Aylwin should use her high rate of fire, and powerful guns to lock down cap zones, and support more protected destroyers such as Fletchers as they push up. This does not mean that Aylwin cannot cap, but does mean that one must be very mindful of enemy destroyers when using Aylwin, as not getting hit is a vital for this vessel.

Support Vessel

Especially good when up-tiered or when being used as a second or third spawn, Aylwin's decent(ish) anti-air defence of eight 20 mm cannons is actual quite potent. Though low calibre, their ability to fire almost constantly as well their decent placement makes fighting Aylwin in an aircraft very risky. Naturally this AA is only good at short range, so one must always look out for air dropped torpedoes and low flying bombers, but it can still deter and often destroy even the most potent of attackers. In addition, Aylwin's main battery has a proximity-fused shell that can be researched. As it is radio controlled, it will always burst very near to where your gun distance is set, allowing you to use your high fire rate to tear down aircraft at longer ranges. This firepower can also help deal with short range gun and torpedo boats. As many players tend to bring these light craft in around the end game, when capping gets more fierce and most first spawns are destroyed, sailing into a contested area and letting your 20 mm cannons fire is still a feasible idea. Unfortunately, Aylwin is quite vulnerable to frigates, which the Germans, Japanese and especially Soviets have a lot of, so use your main guns and keep these close range monsters as far away as possible.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great rate of fire and quick turret traverse
• Agile when fully upgraded
• Anti-aircraft capabilities are great once you combine the rate of fire and turret traverse with VT proximity fuse shells
• 20 mm guns are decent at shooting down planes
• Decent torpedo firing arcs

Cons:

• 20 mm gun rounds have slow velocity and can be dodged by attentive pilots
• No armour
• Aft guns have no protection; easily disabled or destroyed
• Has a large bridge which is prone to be disabled

History

The design of the Farragut-class destroyers can be dated back to 1928 when the United States Navy General Board began to outline what the next class of destroyers would look like. As no construction of destroyers had taken place in the United States after the Clemson-class destroyers from 1919-1921, the General Board was able to start from scratch. The idea was to have a destroyer and a destroyer leader, both at 1,500 tons, to serve in flotillas together with one or two of the leaders commanding a group of standard destroyers. By November of 1930, the concept had changed into a 1,375-ton and 1,500-ton destroyer with a 1,850-ton leader, each using the 5 inch/25 guns as the main armament. A much heavier torpedo armament was chosen and a change was made for the leader to have a possibility for 5-inch twin mounts, and later the Bureau of Ordnance had developed the 5 inch/38 dual purpose gun which was incorporated into the designs. Further changes to the designs and addition of ASW equipment meant that by the end of 1931 the design was considered completed. The 1,500-ton design became DD 348-355, the Farragut-class, and the 1,850-ton design became DD 356-363, the Porter-class leaders. In the end, a total of 8 Farragut-class destroyers were built from 1932 to 1935 with the majority of them being commissioned into service in 1935.

USS Aylwin (DD-355) was named after the officer John Cushing Aylwin who had served in the War of 1812. The first assignment for the Aylwin was to tour Europe and she took part in fleet exercises in 1936 and 1937. On 7 December 1941, Aylwin was sitting in port at Pearl Harbor when Japanese planes flew overhead to begin their attack. Aylwin was one of the first ships to steam out and fire back, and later met up with the Enterprise strike group out at sea the following day. A few days later the Commander of the ship had congratulated the crew, as only around half of them were on board and they had still carried out all of their tasks without him. Aylwin would take part in many major engagements throughout the war, such as being with the ANZAC forces in 1942, the Gilbert and Marshall Islands Campaign in 1943, the Marianas Islands in 1944 and the invasion of Okinawa in 1945. She was decommissioned in October 1945 and sold for scrap the following year. USS Aylwin earned 13 Battle Stars for her service in World War II.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the USS Aylwin from live.warthunder.com.

See also

Links to articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the ship;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

References

Philadelphia Navy Yard
Patrol Torpedo Boat (PT)
105’ Experimental PT	PT-812
Destroyer Escorts (DE)
Buckley-class	USS Coolbaugh
Gun Destroyers (DD)
Farragut-class	USS Aylwin